Kevin McCarthy seeks to assuage House Republican concerns

CNN
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House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy sought to assuage House Republican concerns at a closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill on Monday night, part of his campaign to lead the House GOP conference and possibly take the speakership in the next Congress.

The California Republican and House minority leader got a standing ovation in the conference’s first post-election meeting, according to a source familiar with the meeting. However, McCarthy also faced tough questions and complaints from his members who were disappointed in Republicans’ performance in this year’s midterms. While the GOP appears likely to win enough seats to flip control of the House, the margin is expected to be smaller than originally predicted.

“They don’t give out gavels in small, medium, and large – we have the majority and we have the gavels,” McCarthy said at the meeting, according to the source. CNN has not yet projected who will control the House in the next congress.

House Republicans will hold a closed-door vote on Tuesday. McCarthy will only need a simple majority to advance from Tuesday’s vote as the speaker nominee, but the vote on the House floor for speaker will come when the new House convenes in January, and McCarthy will need 218 votes at that time to win the speakership.

Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona, a former chairman of the pro-Trump House Freedom Caucus, is considering mounting a long-shot challenge to McCarthy during the House GOP’s internal leadership elections , according to GOP sources familiar with the matter.

Biggs would not confirm to CNN if he is mounting a long-shot challenge at the House GOP’s internal leadership elections on Tuesday, but was confident there will be a challenger.

“Nobody has 218 votes and there will be a challenger in the conference,” Biggs said.

Texas GOP Rep. Chip Roy told reporters Monday afternoon that someone will challenge McCarthy and receive enough votes to show that he currently doesn’t have enough to win the gavel in January.

“There will be an alternative,” Roy said.

One of McCarthy’s sharpest critics, Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida predicted McCarthy is far short of the threshold he will need to get the coveted post.

“What I can tell you as I stand here right now is that Kevin McCarthy does not have 218 votes to become speaker,” he said. “I don’t think he has 200.”

Former President Donald Trump has been privately encouraging allies to support McCarthy’s bid for House speaker, according to two sources familiar with the effort, believing that the California Republican will be an asset down the road should the former president find himself in a contested 2024 primary.

Trump reaffirmed his support for McCarthy’s leadership bid in an interview with Fox News last week and he has since been working the phones to persuade Republican allies to back him, particularly conservative members who remain skeptical of McCarthy.

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